Stations of the Cross by Jose Maria Escriva

Stations of the Cross – by Jose Maria Escriva Minister’s Book Page 1 of 43

The Stations of the Cross


Opening Rite

Praying the Way of the Cross

By Jose Maria Escriva

Minister:

Jesus came with His disciples

to a country place called Gethsemane,

and He said to them,

"Sit down here, while I go over yonder and pray."

Then He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,

and He began to be saddened and exceedingly troubled.

He said to them:

"My soul is sad, even unto death.

Wait here and watch with me."

He went forward a little,

and falling prostrate He prayed, saying:

"Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me;

yet; not as I Will but as you Will."

Opening Rite continued over page…..


Opening Rite

Opening Rite continued…..

Almighty and Eternal Father,

accept our prayer of thanksgiving

for your Beloved Son,

our Saviour and Lord.

As we recall His Sacred Passion tonight,

send the Spirit of Christ into our hearts, we beg you,

so that whether we pray or work

we might do all in union with Christ our Redeemer.

Who is Lord, forever and ever.

All: AMEN.

And so, let us begin our journey…….

In the Name of the Father

and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

All: AMEN.


The 1s t Stat ion : Minister:

The 1st Stat ion: Jesus i s Condemned to dea th.

We adore you O Christ and we praise you. All Respond: Because by your Holy Cross; you have redeemed the world.

Reader:

It is after ten in the morning.

The trial is moving to its close.

There has been no conclusive evidence.

Pilate knows that Jesus’ enemies

have handed Him over to him - the Governor - out of envy,

and so, Pilate tries an absurd move:

a choice between Barabbas -

a criminal accused of robbery and murder -

and Jesus, who says He is Christ.

The people choose Barabbas, and Pilate exclaims:

What am I to do then, with Jesus?

They all reply:

“Crucify Him!”

Pilate insists:

“Why, what evil has He done?”

Reading continued over page…..


The 1s t Stat ion :

Reading continued…

Once again they respond, shouting:

“Crucify Him!

Crucify Him!”

Pilate is frightened by the growing uproar.

So he sends for water,

and washes his hands

in the sight of the people;

saying as he does so:

“I am innocent of the blood of this just man;

it is your affair”

And having had Jesus scourged,

Pilate hands Him over to them

to be crucified.

Their frenzied and possessed throats fall silent.

As if God had already been vanquished.


The 1s t Stat ion :

Act of Contrition:

O Jesus who for love of me

didst bear Thy Cross to Calvary.

In Thy sweet Mercy grant to me

to suffer and to die with Thee.

Minister:

Jesus is all alone.

Far off now are the days when the words of the Man-God

brought light and hope to men's hearts,

those long processions of sick people whom He healed,

the triumphant acclaim of Jerusalem when the Lord arrived,

riding on a gentle donkey.

If only men had wanted to give a different outlet to God's love!

If only you and I had recognised the day of the Lord!

Sung:

Sweet Sacrament Divine. Hid in Thy earthly home.

Lo ‘round: Thy lonely shrine. With suppliant hearts we come.

Jesus, to Thee our voice we raise in songs of love and heartfelt praise.

Sweet Sacrament Divine. Sweet Sacrament Divine.


The 2nd Stat ion : Minister:

The 2nd Stat ion: Jesus i s made to bear His Cross .


Reader:

Outside the city,

to the north-west of Jerusalem,

there is a little hill: Golgotha is its name;

in Aramaic; locus Calvariae,

in Latin: the place of skulls or Calvary.

Offering no resistance, Jesus gives Himself up

to the execution of the sentence.

He is to be spared nothing,

and upon His shoulders

falls the weight of the ignominious cross.

But, through love,

the Cross is to become the throne

from which He reigns.

The people of Jerusalem and those from abroad

who have come for the Passover

push their way through the city streets,

to catch a passing glimpse of Jesus of Nazareth,

the King of the Jews.

There is a tumult of voices,

and, now and then, short silences:

Perhaps when Jesus fixes His eyes on someone:


The 2nd Stat ion :

Act of Contrition:





Minister:

If anyone wishes to come after me,

let him take up his cross daily and follow me.

How lovingly Jesus embraces the wood

which is to bring Him to death!

Is it not true

that as soon as you cease to be afraid of the Cross,

of what people call the cross,

when you set your will to accept the Will of God,

then you find happiness, and all your worries,

all your sufferings, physical or moral, pass away?

Truly the Cross of Jesus is gentle and lovable.

There, sorrows cease to count;

there is only the joy of knowing

that we are co-redeemers with Him.

Sung: Jesus, Remember me, when you come into your Kingdom. Jesus, Remember me, when you come into your Kingdom.


The 3rd Stat ion : Minister:

The 3rd Stat ion: Jesus fa l ls for the 1s t t ime.


Reader:

The heavy Cross cuts and tears into Our Lord’s shoulders.

The crowd has swollen into a multitude,

and the legionaries can scarcely contain the angry, surging mob

which, like a river that has burst its banks,

flows through the streets and alleyways of Jerusalem.

The worn out body of Jesus

staggers now beneath the weight of the huge Cross.

His most loving Heart can barely summon up another breath of life

for His poor wounded limbs.

To right and left,

Our Lord sees the multitude moving around

like sheep without a shepherd.

He could call them one by one by their names, by our names.

There they are,

those who were fed at the multiplication of the loaves and fishes,

those who were cured of their ailments,

those He taught by the lakeside,

on the mountain and in the porticoes of the Temple.

A sharp pain pierces the soul of Jesus;

Our Lord falls to the ground exhausted.


The 3rd Stat ion :

Act of Contrition:





Minister:

You and I can say nothing:

now we know why the Cross of Jesus weighs so much.

We weep over our wretched failings

and also for the terrible ingratitude of the human heart.

From the depths of our soul

there comes an act of real contrition,

that lifts us up from the prostration of sin.

Jesus has fallen

that we might get up:

once and for all.



The 4th Stat ion : Minister:

The 4th Stat ion: Jesus mee t s His af f l i c t ed Mother .


Reader:

No sooner has Jesus risen

from His first fall

than He meets His Blessed Mother,

standing by the wayside where He is passing.

With immense love Mary looks at Jesus,

and Jesus at his Mother.

Their eyes meet,

and each heart pours into the other its own deep sorrow.

Mary's soul is steeped in bitter grief,

the grief of Jesus Christ.

“O all you that pass by the way,

look and see, was there ever a sorrow to compare with my sorrow!”

But no one notices, no one pays attention; only Jesus.

Simeon’s prophecy has been fulfilled:

‘thy own soul a sword shall pierce.’

In the dark loneliness of the Passion,

Our Lady offers her Son a comforting balm of tenderness,

of union, of faithfulness;

a 'yes' to the Divine Will.


The 4th Stat ion :

Act of Contrition:





Minister:

Hand in hand with Mary,

you and I also want to console Jesus,

by accepting always and in everything the Will of His Father,

of our Father.

Only thus will we taste the sweetness of Christ's Cross,

and come to embrace it with all the strength of Love,

carrying it in triumph along the ways of the earth.

Sung: Hail Queen of heaven

Hail, Queen of Heav’n, the Ocean Star, Guide of the wand’rer here below:

Thrown on life’s surge, we claim thy care: Save us from peril and from woe. Mother of Christ: Star of the Sea.

Pray for the wanderer, pray for me.

O gentle, chaste and spotless maid, We sinners make our prayers through thee.

Remind thy Son that He has paid the price of our iniquity. Virgin most pure: Star of the Sea. Pray for the sinner, pray for me.



The 5th Stat ion: Simon of Cyrene he lp s carry the Cross


Reader:

Jesus is exhausted.

His footsteps become more and more unsteady,

and the soldiers are in a hurry to be finished.

So, when they are going out of the city through the Judgement Gate,

they take hold of a man who was coming in from a farm,

a man called Simon of Cyrene,

the father of Alexander and Rufus,

and they force him to carry the Cross of Jesus.

In the whole context of the Passion,

this help does not add up to very much.

But for Jesus, a smile, a word, a gesture,

a little bit of love is enough for Him

to pour out His grace bountifully

on the soul of His friend.

Years later, Simon's sons

- Christians by then -

will be known and held in high esteem

among their brothers in the Faith.

And it all started

with this unexpected meeting with the Cross.


The 5th Stat ion :

Act of Contrition:





Minister:

At times the Cross appears without our looking for it:

it is Christ who is seeking us out.

And if by chance,

before this unexpected Cross which, perhaps,

is therefore more difficult to understand,

your heart were to show repugnance...

don 't give it consolations.

And, filled with a noble compassion,

when it asks for them, say to it slowly,

as one speaking in confidence:

'Heart: heart on the Cross!

Heart on the Cross! '




The 6th Stat ion: Veron ica wipes the face o f Jesus.


Reader:

There is no beauty in Him,

nor comeliness:

and we have seen Him,

and there was no sightliness,

that we should be attracted to Him.

Despised and the most abject of men,

a man of sorrows and acquainted with infirmity;

and His look was as if it were hidden and despised.

Where-upon we esteemed Him not.

And it is the Son of God who is passing by!

A woman,

Veronica by name,

makes her way through the crowd,

with a white linen cloth folded in her hands,

and with this she reverently wipes the face of Jesus.



The 6 th Stat ion :


Our Lord leaves the impression of His Holy Face

on the three parts of that veil.

The beloved face of Jesus,

that had smiled upon children

and was Transfigured with glory on Mount Thabor,

is now, as it were,

concealed by suffering.

But this suffering is our purification;

the sweat and the blood,

which disfigure and tarnish His features,

serve to cleanse us.


The 6th Stat ion :

Act of Contrition:





Minister:

Lord, help me decide to tear off, through penance,

this pitiful mask I have fashioned with my wretched doings...

Then, and only then,

by following the path of contemplation and atonement,

will my life begin to copy faithfully the features of your life.

We will find ourselves becoming more and more like you.

Sung:

Sweet Sacrament of Peace. Dear home of every heart,

where restless yearnings cease, and sorrows, all depart.

There in Thine ear, all trustfully, we tell our tale of misery.

Sweet Sacrament of Peace. Sweet Sacrament of Peace.



The 7th Stat ion: Jesus fa l ls for the 2nd t ime.


Reader:

Outside the walls of the city,

the body of Jesus again gives way through weakness,

and He falls a second time,

amid the shouts of the crowd

and the rough handling of the soldiers.

Infirmity of body and bitterness of soul

have caused Jesus to fall again.

All the sins of men — ours too —

weigh down on His Sacred Humanity.

He has borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows,

and we have taken Him for a leper,

and as one struck by God and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our iniquities

and bruised for our sins.

On Him fell the punishment that brought us salvation,

and by His wounds - we have been healed.

Jesus stumbles,

but His fall lifts us up,

His death brings us back to life.


The 7th Stat ion :

Act of Contrition:





Minister:

To our falling again and again into evil,

Jesus responds with His determination to redeem us,

with an abundance of forgiveness.

And, so that no one may despair,

again He wearily raises Himself, embracing the Cross.

May our stumbles and defeats separate us from Him no more.

Just as a feeble child throws itself contritely

into the strong arms of its father,

you and I will hold tightly to the yoke of Jesus.

Only a contrition and humility like this

can transform our human weakness

into the fortitude of God.

Sung:

Sweet Sacrament of Rest. Ark from the ocean’s roar, Within Thy shelter blest;

soon may we reach the shore. Save us, for still the tempest raves,

Save, lest we sink beneath the waves. Sweet Sacrament of Rest. Sweet Sacrament of Rest.



The 8th Stat ion: Jesus speaks to the daughters o f Jerusalem.


Reader:

Among the people watching Our Lord

as He passes by

are a number of women

who are unable to restrain their compassion

and break into tears,

perhaps recalling those glorious days spent with Jesus,

when everyone exclaimed in amazement:

“He has done all things well.”

But Our Lord wishes to channel their weeping

towards a more supernatural motive,

and He invites them to weep for sins,

which are the cause of the Passion

and which will draw down the rigour of Divine Justice:

“Daughters of Jerusalem,

weep not for me,

but weep for yourselves and for your children...

For if they do these things to the green wood,

what shall be done to the dry?”


The 8th Stat ion :

Act of Contrition:





Minister:

Your sins, my sins, the sins of all men, rise up.

All the evil we have done

and the good that we have neglected to do.

The desolate panorama

of the countless crimes and iniquities

which we would have committed,

if He, Jesus, had not strengthened us

with the light of His most loving glance.

How little a life is for making atonement!




The 9th Stat ion: Jesus fa l ls for the 3rd t ime.


Reader:

Our Lord falls for the third time,

on the slope leading up to Calvary,

with only forty or fifty paces between Him

and the summit.

Jesus can no longer stay on His feet:

His strength has failed Him,

and He lies on the ground

in utter exhaustion.

He offered Himself up

because it was His Will;

abused and ill-treated,

‘He opened not His mouth,

as a sheep led to the slaughter,

dumb as a lamb before its shearers.’

Everyone against Him...

the people of the city and those from abroad,

and the Pharisees and the soldiers

and the chief priests...

All of them executioners.



The 9th Stat ion :


His Mother — our Mother — weeps.

Jesus fulfils the Will of His Father!

Poor:

Naked.

Generous:

What is there left for Him to surrender?

“He loved me

and delivered Himself up unto death

for me.”


The 9th Stat ion :

Act of Contrition:





Minister:

My God!

May I hate sin, and unite myself to you,

taking the Holy Cross into my arms,

so that I, in my turn,

may fulfil your most lovable Will....

stripped of every earthly attachment,

with no other goal but your glory....

generously, not keeping anything back,

offering myself with you in a perfect holocaust.

Sung: Sweet Sacrament Divine.

Earth’s light and jubilee.

In Thy far depths doth shine

Thy Godhead’s Majesty.

Sweet Light, so shine on us we pray

that earthly joys may fade away.

Sweet Sacrament Divine.

Sweet Sacrament Divine.



The 10th Stat ion: Jesus i s s t r ipped of His garments .


Reader:

When Our Lord arrives at Calvary,

He is given some wine to drink mixed with gall,

as a narcotic to lessen in some way the pain of the crucifixion.

But Jesus,

after tasting it to show His gratitude for that kind service,

has not wanted to drink.

He gives Himself up to death with the full freedom of Love.

Then, the soldiers strip Christ of His garments.

From the soles of His feet

to the top of His head,

there is nothing healthy in Him:

Wounds and bruises and swelling sores.

They are not bound up, nor dressed, nor anointed with oil.

The executioners take His garments

and divide them into four parts.



The 10th Stat ion :


But the cloak is without seam, so they say:

“It would be better not to tear it,

but let us cast lots for it

to see whose it shall be.”

Thus, Scripture is again fulfilled:

‘They divided my garments among them,

and upon my vesture

they cast lots.’

Despoiled, stripped,

left in the most absolute poverty.

Our Lord is left with nothing,

save the wood of the Cross.


The 10th Stat ion :

Act of Contrition:





Minister:

For us to reach God, Christ is the way;

but Christ is on the Cross,

and to climb up to the Cross

we must have our heart free,

not tied to earthly things.

Sung: Jesus, Remember me, when you come into your Kingdom. Jesus, Remember me, when you come into your Kingdom. Jesus, Remember me, when you come into your Kingdom. Jesus, Remember me, when you come into your Kingdom.



The 11th Stat ion: Jesus i s na i l ed to the Cross .


Reader:

Now they are crucifying Our Lord,

and with Him two thieves,

one on His right and one on His left.

Meanwhile, Jesus says:

“Father, forgive them

for they do not know what they are doing.”

It is Love that has brought Jesus to Calvary.

And once on the Cross,

all His gestures and all His words are of love,

a love both calm and strong.

With a gesture befitting an Eternal Priest,

without father or mother, without lineage,

He opens His arms

to the whole human race.



The 11th Stat ion :


With the hammer blows with which Jesus is being nailed,

there resound the prophetic words of Holy Scripture:

‘They have pierced my hands and feet.

I can count all my bones,

and they stare and gloat over me.’

“My people,

what have I done to thee,

or in what have I saddened thee?

Answer me!”


The 11th Stat ion :

Act of Contrition:





Minister:

And we, our soul rent with sorrow,

say to Jesus in all sincerity:

I am yours and I give my whole self to you;

gladly do I nail myself to your Cross,

ready to be in the cross-roads of this world

a soul dedicated to you, to your glory,

to the work of Redemption,

the co-redemption of the whole human race.

Sung: Where you there when they nailed Him to the tree?

Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree? Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?

Ohhhhhh sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.

Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?



The 12th Stat ion: Jesus d ie s on the Cross . We adore you O Christ and we praise you. Response: Because by your Holy Cross; you have redeemed the world.

- - WE ALL KNEEL - -

Reader:

On the uppermost part of the Cross

the reason for the sentence is written:

it says:

“Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews”

And all who pass by insult Him and jeer at Him.

If He is the king of Israel,

let Him come down here and now from the cross.

One of the thieves comes to His defence:

“This man has done no evil.”

Then, turning to Jesus,

he makes a humble request, full of faith:

“Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.”

“Truly, I say to thee:

This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise.”

At the foot of the Cross stands His Mother, Mary,

with other holy women.



The 12th Stat ion :


Jesus looks at her;

then He looks at the disciple whom He loves,

and He says to His Mother:

“Woman, behold thy son.”

Then He says to the disciple:

“Behold thy mother.”

The sun's light is extinguished

and the earth is left in darkness.

It is close on three o 'clock, when Jesus cries out:

“Eli, Eli, lamma sabacthani?”

That is:

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

Then, knowing that all things are about to be accomplished,

that the Scriptures may be fulfilled, He says: “I am thirsty.”

The soldiers soak a sponge in vinegar and,

placing it on a reed of hyssop; they put it to His mouth.

Jesus sips the vinegar, and exclaims:

“It is accomplished.”

The veil of the temple is rent, and the earth trembles,

when the Lord cries out in a loud voice:

“Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.”

PAUSE FOR SILENT REFLECTION


The 12th Stat ion :

PAUSE FOR SILENT REFLECTION

Act of Contrition:




to suffer and to die with Thee. The Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father who art in Heaven

Hallowed be Thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done,

on earth, as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

and forgive us our trespasses;

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil

Amen.

- - WE STAND - -

Continue with the Prayer next page



Jesus has breathed His last.

His disciples had so often heard Him say:

“my food is to do the Will of Him that sent me

and to bring His work to fulfillment.”

He has done so to the end, patiently, humbly,

and without holding anything back...

“He was obedient unto death, even death on a Cross!”

Sung: Where you there when they Crucified our Lord?

Were you there when they crucified our Lord? Were you there when they crucified our Lord?


Were you there when they crucified our Lord?



The 13th Stat ion: Jesus i s taken down from the Cross and la id in the arms o f His Mother .


Reader:

Mary stands by the Cross, engulfed in grief.

And John is beside her.

But it is getting late,

and the Jews press for Our Lord to be removed from there.

Having obtained from Pilate the permission required

by Roman law for the burial of condemned prisoners,

there comes to Calvary a councillor named Joseph,

a good and upright man, a native of Arimathea.

He has not consented to their counsel and their doings,

but is himself one of those waiting for the kingdom of God.

With him too comes Nicodemus,

the same who earlier visited Jesus by night;

he brings with him a mixture of myrrh and aloes,

about a hundred pounds weight.

These men were not known publicly as disciples of the Master.



The 13th Stat ion :


They had not been present at the great miracles,

nor did they accompany Him

on His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

But now; when things have turned bad;

when the others have fled,

they are not afraid to stand up for their Lord.

Between the two of them

they take down the body of Jesus

and place it in the arms of His most holy Mother.

Mary's grief is renewed.

‘Where has thy Beloved gone,

o fairest of women?

Where has He whom thou lovest gone,

and we will seek Him with thee?’

The Blessed Virgin is our Mother,

and we do not wish to,

we cannot,

leave her alone.


The 13th Stat ion :

Act of Contrition:





Minister:

He came to save the world,

and His own denied Him before Pilate.

He showed us the path to goodness,

and they dragged Him along the way to Calvary.

He gave example in everything He did,

and they preferred a thief convicted of murder.

He was born to forgive, and — without cause —

they condemned Him to the gallows.

He came along the paths of peace,

and they declared war on Him.

He was the Light,

and they handed Him over to the powers of darkness.

He brought Love,

and they repaid Him with hatred.

Prayer continued over page…..


The 13th Stat ion :

Prayer continued…

Minister:

He came to be King,

and they crowned Him with thorns.

He became a slave to free us from sin,

and they nailed Him to the Cross.

He took Flesh to give us Life,

and we rewarded Him with death.

Sung: Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of death.

Amen.



The 14th Stat ion: Jesus i s p laced in the Sepulchre .


Reader:

Very near Calvary,

in an orchard,

Joseph of Arimathea has had a new tomb made,

cut out of the rock.

Since it is the eve of the solemn Pasch of the Jews,

Jesus is laid there.

Then Joseph, rolling a great stone,

closes the grave door and goes away.

Jesus came into the world with nothing;

so too, with nothing — not even the place where He rests —

He has left us.

The Mother of Our Lord — our Mother —

and the women who have followed the Master from Galilee,

after taking careful note of everything,

also take their leave.



The 14th Stat ion :


Night falls.

Now it is all over.

The work of our Redemption has been accomplished.

We are now children of God,

because Jesus has died for us

and His death has ransomed us.

‘You and I have been bought at a great price.’


The 14th Stat ion :

Act of Contrition:





Minister:

We must bring into our life, to make them our own,

the life and death of Christ.

We must die through mortification and penance,

so that Christ may live in us through Love.

And then follow in the footsteps of Christ,

with a zeal to co-redeem all mankind.

We must give our life for others.

That is the only way to live the life of Jesus Christ

and to become one and the same thing with Him.

Sung: Where you there when they laid Him in the tomb?

Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb? Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?


Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?



Concluding Rite Minister:

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who; though He was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,

but emptied Himself,

taking the form of a slave,

being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

He humbled Himself

and became obedient to the point of death -

even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted Him

and gave Him the Name that is above every name,

so that at the Name of Jesus

every knee should bend,

in Heaven and on earth

and under the earth,

and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father;

All: AMEN.

Concludes over page…..



Concluding Rite Minister:

Almighty God,

we thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ,

and for the gift of our salvation

that He won for us

through the Way of the Cross.

Make our paths straight

and keep our feet upon that Way of the Cross

until you bring us safely

into your Heavenly Kingdom;

where you reign with the Son and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

All: AMEN. Minister:

May Almighty God bless you.

In the Name of the Father,

and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

All: AMEN.

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Stations of the Cross by Jose Maria Escriva